Hounded by Future's Shadow
by OR7A
Summary: Follow the course of telepath, who goes rogue when Psi Corps experiments he'd volunteered for take a turn for the worse. Soon he's on the run from Bester! Please R
1. Part One

My dearest Talia,

I write to you in high spirits. It is the first time I've felt valued, a part of something, since you left for Babylon 5. I ran into my old Corps training buddy Curtis Cooper the other morning and we decided to have lunch together. Ha! You should've seen it, we had an entire conversation without opening our mouths; everyone was starring but it was so refreshing to meet an old friend. But the reason I am in such a jovial mood is what we talked about. We discussed what we'd been doing since we last met and in a round about sort of way we finally started discussing Cooper's current line of work. He's apparently head researcher at a Corps facility on Mars; something Planum, i forget. But the point is both he and his associates are currently looking for volunteers! And guess who jumped on the band wagon! As I record this I'm on a transport headed for Martian shores. I didn't think I'd get the okay to leave in the middle of a term, but Cooper said his program has important backers and before I'd even filed a transfer request with the Corps I'd already received the go ahead. Oh, we're about to enter martian atmosphere. I'll explain more when I write again.

Love,  
Jason.

Janurary 9th 2257, Mars Colony:  
Jason Ironheart was a proud member of Psi Corps. His dedication went beyond merely a job, it had been imbedded in him from a young age and the Corps had become part of his very identity. Wearing a smart-casual pair of dark jeans that complemented his skin tone with a plain white shirt and black jacket Jason strolled off the Earth-to-Mars transport. Because of the Psi Corps broach on his collar he had been given VIP treatment the whole journey and enjoyed being the first off the commercial flight. The security guard ran his identicard through the reader and nervously returned it. That was the part of being part of the Corps Jason wasn't fond of. Despite his pleasant, warm and outgoing demeanour, as soon as any non-telepath caught a glimpse of his Psi Corps emblem they would instantly freeze up and become tense as if a telepath would be scanning all the time. Jason thanked the guard and continued on his way, he gave a quick glance to the travel plans he'd been issued to make sure he knew who he was looking for. A Psi Cop named Jessica Kelsey, a former pupil of Jason's, had been assigned to greet him, give him a brief tour of the immediate Martian surroundings and get him straight to the Corps' top secret research facility. Jason stopped, he had been touched by another mind... a powerful mind; a P12? 'Mister Ironheart,' the voice in his mind said. He threw the travel bag he'd been carrying over his shoulder and concentrated with his mind. 'This way Mister Ironheart,' the voice said, giving off a Psi-Beacon for the wayward traveller to follow. Jason strode off willingly into the sea of people, some embarking on their travels, some arriving at their final destination. Eventually he spotted a short brown haired woman dressed in the usual black Psi-Cop regalia. 'You must be Miss Kelsey,' Ironheart said telepathically.  
"Correct," Kelsey said verbally, her tone was that of a strict school mistress Jason had known from his prepubesent days and it sent a shiver down his spine. Or was that the uniform? Or the power he knew the Psi Cops wielded?  
"I believe you are my escort for the proceedings?" Jason asked smiling, he wanted to make a big as effort as possible to get along with everyone here, who knew what other exciting possibilities would open up for him with the right connections and contacts within the Corps hierarchy.  
"I am the guide for all the candidates," Kelsey said firmly, "You are the first to arrive. I'm currently sending out a Psi call, the one you heard, across this port; hopefully Mister Loffler and Miss Santos will arrive shortly"  
"Where are they coming from?" Jason asked merely making conversation to pass the time. He took the moment also to look around the enormous dome that held the precious atmosphere life needed to survive on this barren dust ball. It's construction was of very solid metals, the composition of which Jason didn't even want to guess at, but the majority of it was lined with thick reinforced glass that let what red hazy natural light Mars owned into the structure, eleviating the colony's reliance on power generated artifical light to some extent.  
"Mister Loffler," Kelsey began, her tone had not changed. Jason had no doubt she was as devoted to the Corps' principles as he was, but she could add a little personality into it. There was nothing in the regulations of 2161 that said humour and pleasantries were disallowed for telepaths. "Is coming from Io, he was stationed there as the commercial telepath for the colony. His rating is P6"  
"And Miss Santos?" Jason questioned further, the wonder of the dome having become a secondary interest at this point.  
"Miss Michelle Santos is a P12 rated Psi-Cop coming in from an assignment especially for the experiment, and will be meeting us in due course"  
Jason didn't need to be a telepath, not that he dared scan a Psi Cop anyway, to figure out Kelsey had purposely answered a different question in order to avoid telling him where exactly this Psi Cop, Santos, had been stationed before; perhaps deep undercover. Tales and whispers of Psi Cop investigations were almost legends back at the Corps' training facility on Earth, Jason had lapped up every last story from the older members of the faculty that had heard more stories down the Corps' grapewine that there were books in the bible.  
A few moments passed where the two exchanged not even a smile before Kelsey announced that both Miss Santos and Mister Loffler had arrived on the same transport and had responded to her Psi Beacon. Santos was obviously of hispanic descent, although her skin was perhaps a little pailer than one might expect; but years outside of normal sunlight would do that to anyone's skin. She wore her Psi Cop black with pride, and her expression of pure smugness mimiced that of Kelsey; perhaps, Jason thought, they taught all the Psi Cops that?  
Mister Loffler on the other hand was slightly... odd. He was quite short, had thick bushy black eye brows and walked with somewhat of a hunchback; his face however was friendly and he spoke with an adorable lisp.  
"Someone will collect your bags and deposit them in your assigned quarters," Kelsey said after the other two had arrived, and all four of them had exchanged telepathic greetings and salutations. "This way if you please," she said leading the group towards a lift access marked in English, and several alien languages, 'Transport tube."

Boarding the transport tube had been an easy task. Unlike the mundane masses that would be facing massive ques to use Mars' primary form of transportation the Psi Corps had set aside an entire car to hurtle their candidates to the desire location on a private track. Kelsey and Santos sat the front of the car, wanting to limit conversation with the others. But Jason and Mister Loffler; who Ironheart had learned prefered to be called Rick, were fast becoming friends. The conversation had dodged around several safe subjects; work, old Corps training facility stories, the latest sports news from Proxima 3 et al, but soon Loffler wanted to progress onto more pressing matters. 'How did they volunteer you for this?' he asked telepathically, he was only a P6 but could easily mask his telepathic communique from more powerful telepaths unless they were purposely scanning. 'What do you mean? I DID volunteer,' Jason said back, 'Doctor Cooper is an old friend of mine from training.' Loffler seemed to go silent all of a sudden, Jason looked him in the eyes; he wasn't sure if Loffler had suddenly felt Kelsey probing him, or maybe he was just caught off guard by Jason's revelation. Either way he decided pushing the issue further was a flawed idea.  
The tube came to an abrupt end at a seemingly unfinished part of Mars Colony. The dome they were in was much smaller than all of the others, and lacked the emenseness of the glass roof; instead replaced by dull grey panels. Kelsey escorted the other three off, neither her nor Santos had spoken a word since the journey began.  
"You are about to enter a classified area," Kelsey spoke aloud, standing firm between the three telepathic "volunteers", and a large metal door marked with various seemingly arbitrary numbers. "You must understand that once you have seen the things you are about to see you will not be allowed to speak of them to others. Doing so will mean expulsion from the Corps and you receiving Rogue status." The Psi Cop smiled smuggly, enjoying the power her kind had over their peers, "Am I understood"  
Santos, Loffler and Ironheart all agreed. The latter begrudgingly. Kelsey rolled back the doors and proceeded into the all consuming darkness beyond. Santos strode through the entrance confidently, but Loffler and Ironheart looked at each other for a moment before taking the plunge simaltaneously. Coming into the darkness was not was Ironheart had expected. Instead of a moment in darkness followed by Kelsey or someone switching on the lights that would perhaps reveal a musty old corridor that would lead them to their quarters, the three were faced with a gleaming white facility. They were stood on a steal ledge that ran the circumfrance of the enormous room, it's edges guarded by a small handrail just above waist height. The decking underneath their feet made a satisfying metal clinging noise as Kelsey gave them little time to take in their new surroundings and began to lead the way again. "How did you...?" Ironheart asked.  
"A stabilized changeling net program over the entire doorway. It's easier to just create a forboding darkness than anything else. It's a good last deterant for people who have reached further than they should have," she replied, it was the fullest answer she'd given Jason since he'd arrived on Mars.  
"This is one part of our Syria Planum facility. It is home to some of the Corps' most advanced researchs. But you are just a very small part of that," she explained as she began to decide one of the many stairways that led off the ledge and down into the middle of the room.  
Jason surveyed the room just before his descent would cause it to go out of view. Various men in white coats were working feverishly at computer terminals, some over what looked like deceased animals, each section of the room's basin was seperated by thick white walls with no ceiling. "Impressive," Santos commented. The four continued without further comment until they reached a corner of the room, where a further stair case was found behind a second false black changeling net wall. Jason couldn't help but wonder the necessity of all this secrecy, surely the general public understood the Corps was merely acting in the best interests of every citizen of Earth Alliance?

"These are your quarters," Kelsey said, having descended two further flights of steps and turned a few dozen corners and interchanges. Each junction was marked with somesort of numeric glyph, that Jason presumed was an indication of where to go but he couldn't decifer it. The Psi-Cop pointed at the first three doors along this particular plain white corridor. "You should find your belongings awaiting you. Please make yourselves comfortable and dress in the uniform provided for the time being. Please do not wander the facility, it is VERY easy to get lost; and very... bad for your health," she said, a small evil looking smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "When will I be able to speak with Doctor Cooper?" Jason asked, he wasn't sure if everyone knew he was an old friend of Curtis' so he didn't want to start calling the doctor by his familiar name just yet.  
"Doctor Cooper is busy with the other," she paused for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully, "the other volunteers at the moment. If you could kindly dress in the provided uniforms and await my Psi-Intructions." Kelsey led Santos to the first room, unlocking it with the swipe of a red and yellow access card. Then Loffler to the second and Ironheart to the third. Ironheart entered his room without arguement or commotion and set about setting his small travel bag down on the small army-issue looking single bed and proceeded to check through his larger suitcase to make sure his belongings were still intact, it was an old stereotype of a Martian crook, but you could never be too careful. Satisfied his meager belongings, a few personal pictures, a collection of well worn neutral coloured shirts, a couple of ties, underwear, socks and a few spare Psi-Corps emblems, were all secure he decided to dress immediately into the all white coveralls that hung from a small hook on the back of his door. Despite it's rather figure hugging qualities it wasn't a bad fit, and easier to get on than Jason had first envisioned. Satisfied he had put it on the correct way round, despite the irritatingly high collar on the front of it, he sat down on the bed and drew out his data recorder to see about finalizing that letter to his beloved Talia and downloading it to a spare data crystal for sending the next time he saw a public access Stellar Com booth.

Not a few minutes had passed when a airport sounding "ding-dong" siren went off twice in succession. He paid heed to it and rose, presuming it was his calling. He reached forward to try the handle on his door, finding the only exit to his tiny windowless quarters locked. "Odd," he thought, he was on the understanding he was a volunteer here; not a prisoner. Perhaps it had been an oversight in regards to the Psi-Cop who'd let him in, maybe not using the right access codes to allow easy in and out ... maybe?  
Jason didn't have time to ponder it as he soon picked up on the powerful telepathic signal from Kelsey, she was a P12 afterall and her psychic presence could be made to be felt almost anywhere. 'Doctor Cooper is ready now, Please await personal concoltation,' her message read. Ironheart wanted to communicate back, back even with his P10 abilities he could not locate her presence to reply. And before he could blink the message was gone: All Jason could do was sit and wait.

The intrepid former Corps instructor didn't have long to wait, seemingly the doctor had visited his old friend first. There was a few bleeping noises immited from the locking mechanism on the door preceeding imminant opening. The door swung open and Jason raised himself off the bed to greet his friend warmly. Cooper stood in the doorway wearing a similar white coverall to that of Jason's attire, but Cooper's hair was covered also by a plain white mask. "Curtis," Jason said smiling and extending his hand. His old friend did not meet Jason's hand with his. Instead he raised the clipboard to eye level and read coolly and calmly from it. "Name: Jason Gregory Ironheart, born December 15th 2223. Male, Psi Corps rating P10." Jason frowned, why was his friend stating facts as if his old training buddy was nothing more than a subject in an experiment; like a lab rat.  
"Curtis. It's Jason, what's wrong?" Ironheart was almost pleading now. He starred into the man's eyes, looking for some sign of recognition.  
"I am Doctor Cooper," he said, "You are not to use my familiar name within these walls"  
"Look Curtis. My door was locked, when you decribed what you were doing here it wasn't anything like this... all this cloak and dagger. I mean, good god man I'm being treated like a criminal!" Jason's voice seemed almost desperate now, he longed for his boring life, that comfortable chair in the staff room he always tried to get to first, the taste of a cool glass of lemonade at the Corps' Kids Festival... anything that wasn't here.  
"I am Doctor Cooper," Cooper stated again, completely ignoring everything Jason had just said. "You have been volunteered for experiment Tango-Delta Four-Seventeen... the use of bio-organic technology salvaged from Earth Alliance sources merged with human flesh to study the results; and hopefully increase an individual's Psi Rating. The side effects could be possible telekenetic abilities, astral projection and/or mental illness. Is this understood?" Cooper's voice was monotone, an intimidating monotone. His eyes looked straight at Jason without a mere flicker of friendship, or anything else Jason had seen, had sensed in his friend just a few days ago. "Is this understood?" Cooper said, his monotone's volume raised. Jason let his hands flop to his sides and just nodded. "Excellent, for the course of this experiment you will not be permitted to leave your room unescorted, or to converse outside of lab situations with your fellow candidates. The time is 11:30 Earth standard time. Tests will begin at 13:00 EST, please be ready."

With that the door was closed and a few bleeps later was locked. Jason sat back down on his bed slowly, sinking his head into his hands. What had he signed up for? 


	2. Part Two

Dear Talia,

This isn't what I signed up for! Cooper, he's... gone mad, or something. He acts as if I'm a stranger to him, as if our history together through training didn't happen, as if us meeting the other day didn't happen. I've tried probing him, but he's a P11, always stronger than me and I can't probe him. These walls too, are so thick I can hardly sense the other: what shall I call us? Prisoners? But I did just about make a quick contact with the man being held in the cell next to me, Hank Loffler. At first I thought he was a little strange, but not he seems to be the most normal of us here! We are both worried, scared, damnit! I don't even know if this letter will ever reach you when you're so far away on that space station... I just hope things get better. They've given us these drugs. They are meant to null the nural pain receptors ready for whatever the hell they have planned for us. They been performing tests on me, giving me more injections; and they keep asking if I can move things with my mind. I caught a glimpse of Miss Santos earlier today, she didn't look well; her latino colour had disappeared from her face. I don't like what's going on here.

Jason

August 12th, 2257. Syria Planum. 07:00:  
Jason woke to the same ding-dong that he had done for the past few months, it rung at different times. On the first night after an extended session in the lab being researched "with" by Cooper's assistant, a woman by the name of Cassie Masters, he had returned for rest at 04:00, only to be woken again at 05:30 for another long day. Perhaps, Jason conjected, that part of their research was to study the effects of sleep deprivation: either that or they were just on a particularly tight scheduele. When Jason glanced at the leather strapped watch he'd discarded onto the floor space nearest the head of his bed he decided oh-seven-hundred wasn't too bad. There was the usual tell tale bleeps and chirps from his door's locking mechanism, he was expecting another visit from Ms. Kelsey; she seemed to be head of the facility's security, their part of the facility at any rate. Jason had seen no other Psi Cops during his stay. It was a Psi Cop that stood in the doorway, but it wasn't Ms. Kelsey. A man, short of stature, and slight of build, stood before Ironheart. Despite his size, the look of contempt and his oozing confidence commanded both respect and fear in equal doses. "Hello Mister Ironheart," the Psi Cop said offering his guinea pig a faint smile. Jason was standing now, he was ready and dressed in his white uniform. "I am ready to go," Jason said; his soul sounding as if it were broken. He had spent the last few months trying to talk to his friend, former friend Jason corrected himself, Curtis Cooper, but to no avail. The doctor had simply ignored anything Jason said that wouldn't further the work, and Jason had given up trying. In a rare human moment Cooper's assistant, Ms. Masters, had told Jason he'd be free to return home once the experiments were done. Jason didn't have any reason to trust her, but she didn't have any reason to lie either. That was what he decided anyway after thinking about it for hours on end during the various scans he'd endured the previous evening. He just wanted to keep his head down and get out of this place, escape wasn't an option.  
"Today," the Psi Cop continued holding out his palm to stop Ironheart from further proceeding out of his room. "Is going to be a little different than what you're used to"  
"Oh?" Jason said, his heart said maybe they were letting him go, but his head thought otherwise.  
"My name is Mister Bester," the Psi Cop said, seeming to go off on a tanjent. "I am... say, head of Shadow-Psi research here at Syria Planum"  
"I've heard of you Mister Bester," Jason said. This seemed to catch the Psi Cop off guard, of course his files were in the Corps registry, his history; the parts of it that weren't classified that is, could be read by anyone: but there was nothing in his OFFICIAL file that made him memorable.  
"Is that right?" Bester asked, obviously intrigued by his new found fame.  
"I'm a great listener of the grapevine, and your name has come up several times," Jason said.  
"Has it?" Bester said, he was obviously stalling, answering everything with another quesiton.  
"Yes," Jason answered singularly, he wasn't up for explaining anything anymore.  
There was a pause, presumably Bester was waiting to see if Jason would expand, when he didn't Bester eventually continued "As I was saying," he began.  
"I'm the head of research here, and I'm very interested in the progress you and your fellow candidates are making"  
"Why?" Jason asked, sitting back down on his bed; this seemed to be more of an interrogation than just a simple chat and introduction, but nothing suprised him anymore.  
"I haven't been able to move that damned penny anymore than when I started and I still can't get through Kelsey's block"  
"You may not notice it but changes are happening, your scans are showing that. We'll be upping your dosage today"  
That was bad news, Jason already had more needles going in and out of him during the course of the day than tornado valley had well... tornadoes! "And Miss Santos, I notice, is making excellent progress indeed," Bester continued.  
"I wouldn't know, I haven't seen either of the two people I arrived with. The only people I've been allowed to speak to are Ms. Kelsey, Dr. Cooper, his assistant Ms. Masters and a man named Matt Stoner who was undergoing a different treatment and was waiting to use the scanner." Jason suddenly found himself uninterupted, maybe; just maybe, he thought, this Bester character would listen to his concerns. Worry about his wellbeing; let him go?  
"I cannot believe how we are being treated actually!" Jason said, rising from the bed now suddenly confident. His hopes were quickly dashed.  
"May I remind you," Bester said sternly, he didn't flinch when Jason came towards him despite his superior physical size. "That you volunteered for these procedures." Jason didn't know how to respond, he wanted to cry out; demand release, tell this Bester fellow this ISNT what he signed up for, but he decided it wouldn't do any good and would just get him in deeper.  
"Now," Bester said, calmly his voice down once again. "As I was saying. Miss Santos is making excellent progress, and it is my hope both you and Mister Loffler will make similar progress with your increased dosage"  
Bester took a step back, and Ms. Kelsey appeared from out of sight, Jason was suprised; he hadn't sensed anyone there, and she must have heard his entire outburst. Suddenly feeling a little embarressed.  
"If you would Mister Ironheart," Kelsey said standing aside and gesturing the African gentleman out of his quarters.

Jason led the way, he knew it well enough by now, toward the main research chambers where he knew Dr. Cooper and Ms. Masters would be awaiting his arrival with their latest batch of needles, poisons, syrums and scanners. Kelsey and Bester walked side-by-side a few steps behind their captive, their vocal cords were rested but their conversation was feverish.  
'His dosage is being doubled,' Kelsey reported telepathically, she was more than simple Psi Cop security for Cooper's research, she was Bester's liason. It was her job to fill Mister Bester in on the latest developments in the program. 'We've found a male's make-up seems to resist the alien formula.' 'If his body continues to resist sedate him and we'll have to proceed with phase 2 of the program,' Bester decided.  
'Direct grafting of Shadow technology into his mind?' for a moment Kelsey forget her place, even she wasn't expecting Bester to actually give phase 2 the go-ahead. All previous attempts to merge Shadow technology with human flesh had met with disasterous results, and she didn't know this time would be any different.  
'Problem Ms. Kelsey?' 'None at all sir,' she replied looking at her superior officer with a neutral professional look, she hoped with gratify Bester's need for loyality.  
'Miss Santos however,' Kelsey continued, 'Is progressing nicely. She successfully levitated two bar stools yesterday'  
'She looks gaunt,' Bester stated categorically, Kelsey knew Santos' health was not Bester's primary concern; more the success of the program that was reliant on her survival.  
'Her treatment leaves her unable to disgest solids sir. There is only so much nutrition that can be allocated through drips and a like'  
'Make sure she survives for Phase 2. I want to see how far we can push her mental abilities," Bester smirked, believing he himself couldn't be anymore brilliant.  
'Have the evaluators give her a current P rating?" Bester asked out of interest as they rounded the last corner before they and Jason entered the research lab.  
"P19," Kelsey said out loud as the gleaming white doors sensed people approaching and automatically swung open. "I will be observing from the Control Centre," Bester said, addressing Jason. "Be seeing you," he said giving an odd little salute to his subject before heading off down an alternate corridor.  
"Your tests will be very intensive today," Kelsey explained as she led him into the labratory. A room whose floors were as white as the ceiling, tables and chairs, the labaratory was a large room by any measure; but it was one of many in Syria Planum's expansive testing facility, half domed, half carved into the side of a martian clifface. In it's centre was a large ominous looking half-bed, half-chair device with a hundred and one different controls and levers. Too movable lights on hand operated metal arms were also attached to it, reminding Jason of a dentistry. All around the room were various test tubes, some empty, some containing blood samples, some housing not so friendly looking liquids, ranging from luminous green to the deepest of blacks. The room's only occupants were Kelsey and Jason.  
"And you will be expected to make progress. Mister Bester is watching"  
"I couldn't give a wooden nickel whether Mister Bester is watching or not!" Jason burst out, turning toward his watcher and gesturing with his arms to make poinant his frustrations. "It's not like I'm fighting against the treatments. I volunteered for this... remember," he said those last words with complete insincerity. Was it the drugs, Jason thought, the lack of sleep or a side effect of the treatments, but he was getting snappy and less and less inclined to simply do what his captors told him and hope for the best. Was escape an option?  
"Where's the doctor and Ms. Masters?" Jason asked, after he'd calmed down slightly. Although conversation was hard with Ms. Kelsey Jason had found her surprisingly helpful and forth coming with non-classified information such as that.  
"On their way. They'll be escorting Mister Loffler"  
"Rick too?" Jason said, almost with a smile; finally he might get the chance to talk about his dier situation with someone going through the exact same traumatic experience.

They didn't have to wait long. Cooper led the way, with Masters pushing the wheelchair Loffler was strapped in behind him. Rick was rocking back and forth slightly, as much as his restraints allowed, muttering to himself. Do I look that bad? Jason wondered to him.  
'Yes,' a telepathic voice went off in his head, who was it? 'Rick?' he replied telepathically.  
'The one and only'  
'What have they done to you Rick'  
No response came for a moment, Masters deposited the wheelchair next the main operation table in the centre of the room and went to converse with Doctor Cooper and Ms. Kelsey.  
'Same thing they're about to do to you,' he replied solemnly.  
'I was a commercial before this you know,' Rick continued; as if wanted to besote what he'd learnt in life before he bit the bullet. 'I was happy... I had a wife, my second actually! I had a life'  
'Why did you volunteer then?' Jason asked. His question had been directed at Loffler, but really he was asking himself it as well: how could he have been so foolish, just up and leaving everything he'd built, everything he'd worked for.  
'I didn't, neither did Santos. We were both selected. One day I came back to work and they said I'd be reassigned. I work for The Mix you see, and you just kinda go wherever they send you'  
'And this is where they sent you'  
'Correct. Whoever is running the show must have his hands in all sectors of the Corps to bring in people from different sectors.'

"Right," interjected Cooper, speaking verbally, if he'd heard Loffler and Ironheart's psychic conversation he didn't let on. "Good morning gentlemen, as I explained to you Mister Loffler on your trip here, and I believe Ms. Kelsey explained to you on your trip here Mister Ironheart, that we are increasing the dosages and frequency of your treatments"  
Jason's eyes darted around the room, this was it: he was going to get up mad... or strained, and slowly rocking back and forth until he died just like Loffler. He didn't want that, he couldn't let that happen... Little did Bester and Kelsey know Jason had been telepathically eavsdropping on their conversation in the corridor, and he knew Santos wasn't fairing much better. Maybe she had volunteered for this, being a Psi Cop, maybe she hadn't: but Jason was convinced she wouldn't want to stay here any longer. Someone had to act.  
Perhaps he read his mind, perhaps he just saw it in his eyes but all of a sudden Loffler spoke audiably. It was for Jason's ears, but everyone heard it. "We're getting out of here"  
Before anyone go react, Loffler threw off his restraints with a massive physical effort. Kelsey reached for his PPG, but was knocked aside as Loffler ran toward Masters. Jason was stood now, he was no longer indesicive, he knew what he had to do: Escape, but he didn't want to hurt people to achieve that. Soon he realized he'd have no choice. Everything seemed to suddenly slow down, Loffler's gradual run toward Cooper's assistant as she tried to scramble to the alarm buzzer was about to be interupted as Cooper reached under his lab coat and began to draw a PPG... one that would rip through the flesh of Loffler with one him and again Jason would be on his own. "You aren't the same man I once knew," Jason said, his voice yelling, "And I've got to stop the monster you've become! I'm sorry!" Cooper's arm was raised, and his finger was about to squeeze the trigger when suddenly he burst into flames. He cried out in unimaginable agony as his very skin fueled the burning fire that enveloped his body. Loffler had stopped Masters from reaching the buzzer, and now rushed to Jason's side; who had collapsed, grasping his head.  
"Pyrokenesis," Loffler said, he was smiling as he understood their escape was nigh. Jason, however, was not, he knew their escape was coming at a cost.  
The two captive telepaths stood together and headed towards the room's only door, leaving an unconscious Masters, a lightly stunned Kelsey and a smoldering pile of ashes that had been Cooper. 


	3. Part Three

Talia, 

I'm on the run! I know you might not get this, hell... I might not even survive! But it helps me concentrate my mind, helps me focus; which I've found is a very good thing. They've done something to me Talia. They've changed me, I'm different... I can HEAR everything... I can FEEL everything. It's as if...

August 13th, 2257. Somewhere on Mars. 15:30

"Hey! Help me will you," Loffler shouted back to Ironheart. Jason could become so involved with his letter writing, it was only thing keeping him sane. Loffler didn't write anything, perhaps that's why he was further gone than Jason? Jason dropped the letter and his stylus back into his bag and crawled over to where Loffler was struggling to remove a metal panel.  
The two's escape from the Psi Corps facility had been daring to say the least, noble even. But where they had been hiding for the past nine or so hours was less noble. They had escaped Syria Planum without having to kill again, injure yes, even maim, but end the life of a fellow telepath no. Loffler's abilities seemed not as advanced as Jason's, but that was perhaps because he started the treatments as a P6 and Jason a P10; not that they'd had time to consider this during their attempt to flea. But Loffler had time and again wanted to weild somesort of pyrokenesis in the manor Jason had been forced to use it. Jason still felt the tug of guilt at the back of his mind, it was one of the many things tugging away inside his ever expanding mind, about having to leave Santos behind. They HAD gone back for her, Loffler and Jason had both agreed the three of them were in it together... but they found her in her quarters sound asleep through the use of drugs and nothing could wake her up, and they couldn't have carried her all that way: Could they? Jason and Loffler had made a run for it, Kelsey and Bester hot on their tails... Jason had narrowly avoided several PPG shots but somehow they always seemed to miss, did he have the ability to make Bester miss telepathically?  
The two of them were now held up in a small access cubbiehole that's only use was to allow personnel a crawlspace between the air reclamation units for Dome fifteen-Beta and fifteen-Gamma on Utopia Planum. They had managed to catch four or so hours sleep before being forced by their subconscious' to face the waking nightmare again.  
With Jason's help, Loffler, managed to pry of the metal grate from it's housing; breaking a few attaching clips in the process. He set the thin sheet down beside him and peered through into the darkness beyond. "I can't see a thing," Loffler explained sounding unsurpised. Jason gently pulled his companion out of the way and starred into the darkness himself, although his eyes could not see anything his mind could see everything. "There's a crawlspace a few metres long, then there's an access hatch. We can escape through there"  
"How do you know Bester and the Psi Cops aren't down there?" Loffler asked timidly.  
Jason paused for a moment, really contemplating the question. "I just know..." Loffler just looked blankly at him for a momet, maybe deciding whether to trust him or not. Eventually he nodded and led the way down the crawlspace. Low and behold a few metres down the way, just as Jason had prophesized, Loffler discovered a hatch; he pried it open with much more grace and ease than the previous one and peered down. After determining the coast was as free as possible he dropped down.

The room the two escapees found themselves in was, of all places, a men's lavatory. A rather unclean and foul smelling one at that. It was a tight squeeze but Jason managed to find space to open the door, which to add to their inconvienence swung inwards. He stepped outside and was grateful to find no-one awaiting them, he didn't know which would be harder to explain: the status as rogue telepaths, or why two sweaty men were coming out of a toilet cubical together. Loffler paused to use the sinks, splashing a bit of water on one's face could releave even the worst fatigue. And unlike the facilities found of space station and some of the farflung Earth colonies which used rays of concentrated light to wash one's hands, Mars' had a supply of water thanks to the ice that clung to it's polar regions. Jason saw the intelligence behind the idea and mimiced his companion's actions, breathing out with a deep sigh afterward. Both of them quickly shook their hands dry and raced for the exit way. Loffler reached out for the handle to pull the door open but Jason quickly slammed the door shut again. "What?" Loffler asked, looking into Jason's eyes, he'd learnt by now to trust his superiorly telepathical friend, he knew things no other telepath could possibly know; or maybe the drugs and the on set of telekenesis had driven him insane. Jason was holding his temples, a reaction to whatever was powering his psychic visions, or prophecies. "They're out there! The Psi Cops, Bester and Kelsey. They're out there"  
Loffler was a-panic all of a sudden, "How could they know where we are, we've got to get away!" Jason simply nodded, he wanted to try and be strong and confident for the both of them. This Loffler wasn't the same one he'd conversed with on the rid to Syria Planum with a few months back, that one had been full of stories; ancedotes, whit and charm. This Loffler was a like a terrified child hiding from a bully in a school closet: was it just his way of reacting to the rogue status he found them lumbered with? Or an irrational terror brought on by the mental instability that obviously came hand in hand with the experiments they had undergone at the Psi Corps. The Corps is Father, the Corps is mother, my ass Jason thought to himself looking into Loffler's terrified eyes. He had to act. He had to save them: Both. "Stay close," he whispered. His hushed voice set the tone of their emergence from the bathroom. Jason had a little telepathic headups for the Psi Cops approach, but he was still not 100 confident in his newly acquired gifts. The two moved silently down a series of meandered and most importantly desserted corridors. There descent from the air reclamation crawlspace had deposited them inside a machinery works of somesort, worked by only a very few personnel charged with simply maintaining the efficiency of the industrial technology. They were making good progress towards the facility's exit until Jason raised his hand to halt proceedings. On the opposite side of the thick metal door they'd stop infront of; Jason could sense Alfred Bester. The man's slight physical size hide well a very powerful telepathic mind, one that was particularly distinct and one Jason was unlikely to forget in the near future. "Bester is on the other side," Jason whispered, despite the enormity of the machinery works all around them their noise output was minimal.

"What do you mean you can't shut them down? Do you understand who I am?" Bester was asking the Work's foreman. Bester somehow could intimade anybody, maybe it was his manor, maybe his confidence, or was it THAT uniform? even a 6ft2 240lb foreman. "Starting the machines up again taking fourteen hours! My bosses will have my ass if we loose fourteen hours of production because some guy in a Black uniform turns up out of the blue and tells me too!" The foreman was standing his ground. His day had started off like any other, simply clocking it, catching up with the guys, before handing out that duty shift's work roster and getting to it. He'd just taken the first bite of his replicant beef sandwich back in his office when Joe, on of the relief guys from Section 67, told him there was a Psi Cop to see him on urgent business. He'd given brief details on the fugitive's rogue status and shown mugshots but nothing else: and now this Psi Cop wanted his machines shut down? Bester opened his mouth as if to ask again, but then stopped and using his mind spoke to the foreman. 'You can either be our friend, or our enemy. Our friends profit, our enemies... well I don't think you'd want to find out'  
The foreman looked into Bester's cold ruthless eyes then turned around and worked a few controls on the mass of wiring and buttons infront of him. He spoke into a small microphone mounted at the top of the large dash, "Attention everybody. We're shutting the machines down. I repeat shutting the machines down." The foreman jabbed his oversized index finger down on a stereotypical large red button and the low murmuring rumble of the machines began to die down.  
"Thank you," Bester said offering the foreman a single smile.  
'With the interference from those damned machines gone we should be able to locate Ironheart and Loffler easily telepathically. In their unstable condition they'll be transmitting stray thoughts all over the place,' Bester telepathically said to his female companion, who nodded readily.

The noise of the machines shutting down might have been unfortunate for the foreman and whoever he worked for, but it was life threatening news for Loffler and Ironheart. The two telepaths bolted back the way they came, taking a few different turns at different intersections than they had on the way there, hoping to discover an alternate way out. Suddenly they were confronted by two large burly men in coveralls, both carrying boxes of equipment and tools talking to one another as they approached. They looked up to find Ironheart and Loffler standing there like deer in the headlights. "Hey you can't be..." the one of the left started to say, but he was cut off... "Hey!" was all that escaped his friend's lips before he was silenced also. Both of them slung to the ground by Ironheart's mind.  
"Did you kill them?" Loffler asked as the two continued to run.  
"No, just a suggestion that they were both very tired," Ironheart said, he had been forced his kill his old friend... Cooper, and he wasn't ready to kill again. A few running strides later and they had reached what appeared to be a fire exit. They pulled on the manual release lever and the door swung open, revealing another bland gray corridor. The dodged hastily inside, closing the door quickly behind them.

Bester and Kelsey came across the two workmen as they strode quickly, not quite running, around the machines. Bester had been right, Ironheart and Loffler were both projected random stray thoughts all over the place and without the background interference from the industrial works Bester and Kelsey, both P12s, could easily pick them up and were hot on the fugitive's trail. "Dead?" Bester asked as the two stopped and Kelsey checked the body's pulses.  
She shook her head and they started off again. "Almost a shame," Bester said, his ruthlessness being displayed not just in what he was saying or the thoughts he was entertaining but by the grin he wore whilst he was speaking too, "Could've been something else to charge them with."

Having raided a department store of some new clothes, Jason had picked a long beige duffel coat with gray slacks and Loffler had grabbed a thick leather jacket with high collars and a baseball cap, the two fugitive from Psi Corps "justice" meandered as casually as possible through the hoards of people waiting in Marsport to board their flight to the stars. They had been fortunate to avoid Bester and Kelsey in the machinery works, and even more fortunate that security guard had been to busy talking to his girlfriend on the link to notice their clothes still had the tags on them as they left the department store. Now they need a way off Mars, a fake identicard, or a freighter Captain willing to look the other way for the right price. And they didn't have much time.

Bester and Kelsey stood on a balcony high above where the masses intermingle at the gates of Marsport. They looked down from near the roof of the massive dome into that crowd, not using their eyes so much as their minds. Whether it was the larger volume of people with stray thoughts or that Loffler and Ironheart had learnt to control their outbursts wans't clear; what was, was that the Psi Cops were frustratingly no closer to catching their targets, and they had almost gotten away, almost got off Mars. Bester wasn't in the habit of loosing rogues, and he didn't want to start now, especially these ones... ones that could dismantle everything he and his associates were trying to build for Earth Alliance. "Come Ms. Kelsey, we aren't making any progress from here," Bester said turning to head back inside the stairwell that had brought them to their presapice.  
"Why not just issue a warrant for their arrest and invalidate their identicards, so they can't leave on a transport?" Kelsey asked, remaining where she stood.  
"For one I like to keep Corps matters internal, there's no need for mundanes to become involved unless absolutely necessary. And two, I don't want their names getting on any ISN reports, or people could start to wonder why no shuttle cars ever go to Syria Planum." With that Bester turned to face the stairs and began to descend, "Coming Ms. Kelsey?" he called back up as he continued on his way, waking his young and inexperienced assistant from her self enduced pondering waking-slumber.

Realising they had no currency, and therefore no means to get anywhere Jason and his companion had been reduced to one final plan: Being a stowaway. Mars, being Mars, and Martian workers, being Martian workers, they were counting on the little truth inside all stereotypes that meant at least a few crates being taken aboard ships headed out of Mars wouldn't be checked. Neither of them were astronomers, nor stellar cartographers and neither of them had heard of most of the destinations of the freight ships. Sure Earth passenger lines rarely went outside of Earth control space, and normally stayed within the "home systems", colonies like Mars, Io, Proxima 3 etc. but freighters... well they weren't known as Deep Space Boomers for nothing. After turning down a few ships that looked like they were manned by Narns or Drazi headed home they found a reasonably unguarded Earth-manned vessel's cargo. Just as they were about to sneak in amongst the large containers they were halted by an authoritive voice behind them. Loffler and Jason turned around to find themselves starring at a very short man with a clipboard, he was no taller than 5ft, yet his voice was deeper than Jason's cool raspy tone.  
"Excuse me," Jason began smiling, it was the first time he'd smiled in quite some time; even if it was fake it stretched muscles he hadn't used in a while.  
"But where is this particular cargo going? And how long will it take to get there?" he asked.  
The short man scratched his bald head, and looked down the list on his clipboard. The man wasn't quite sure why he was complying to the strangers request, infact he'd been ready to call security and have them escorted out a moment ago. "A little colony on Alpha Tanuga 7, It's only a few days jump," the man reported just before collapsing into a deep sleep.  
"You are getting good at that," Loffler said, it was the first time he'd smiled for a long time too.  
"Here," Jason said going over to a small cupboard and opening it. After fighting away the mops and brooms that fell out onto him he helped Loffler drag the unconscious man into it. Thanks to his tiny frame the man fitted perfectly and Jason closed the door behind him a job well done. All there was to do now was find a crate not yet sealed, conceal themselves in it and hope Alpha Tanuga 7 wasn't more than 3 or so days away otherwise they'd die of dehidration or starvation, or both. But turning back around that plan fell apart, Loffler was in the hands of Bester and Kelsey and the former now had a PPG trained at Jason.  
"Got you," Bester said with a satisfied smirk. "You had us going all over Marsport Mister Ironheart, but I figured you might come here. I knew you had no money... no way of bribing your way aboard so stowing away in a cargo crate was your only option." Jason went to move slightly to the left but found Bester gun extended further towards him and Bester tone take a threatening turn for the worse. "I wouldn't go to far," Bester said, "Now I'm giving you the chance to come along peacefully"  
"I thought you terminated rogues on sight?" Jason said, he wasn't trying to seal his own fate, he was just trying to negotiate his way out of this... for some reason his sleeping trick wasn't work.  
"Are we to valuable to let go that easily? Let me guess, you want to sedate us and take us back to Syria Planum to perform more experiments"  
Bester was silent, he didn't like being dictacting to in that manor and was a little stumped as too what to do about it, true was he wanted Jason and Loffler alive to take back; and also true Jason was far to powerful a telepath now to manipulate through normal means. "Not again," Jason said under his breath. He was looking at the ground, a thousand and one thoughts going through that crazily powerful mind of his, "NOT AGAIN!" he cried at the top of his voice, raising his head to look Bester dead in the face. Suddenly Bester and Kelsey were both knocked off their feet, Bester's PPG going flying through the air. In between a series of lorry sized cargo containers where this confrontation was taking place, and nobody had seemed to realize these crates were actually ready for loading onto the cargo transport. Most transport vessels were too large to land inside an atmosphere, so smaller shuttle craft would do the majority of the ferrying; but these were specialist crates, going on a smaller specialist vessel, and the the area where the crates were stakes was actually the lowered flatbed of the interstellar ship, docked with a specialized port at Marsport. Suddenly the ground started to shake, which thwarted Bester's efforts to raise himself to his feet. Jason and Loffler had run to grab hold of the nearest crate as soon as the Marsquake had begun. But it was no subsidance in the ground itself, the transport vessel was simply ready to raise it's crates into the ship's belly. Bester finally raised himself to his feet and could do nothing but watch and the retratching cargo flatbed lifted Jason and Loffler to safety. Soon they were safe inside the belly of the cargo ship, and having cracked open one of the crate discovered rare and spicey food stuffs... they might not have any taste buds left by the time they reached their destination, and a rather large bill, but at least they wouldn't go hungry. Jason and Loffler let their weary bodies slump down the side of their open crate, smiling to one another... they'd escaped.

Bester was fuming, he turned around to his assistant. "Get the damned ID of that vessel and tell it to halt!" Kelsey spoke into her link, relaying Bester's commands, and got a reply back, "Sir, it's a private vessel that already late for it's departure and the space-traffic controller is refusing to delay it any longer"  
"DAMN!" Bester exclaimed, it was a slip from his usual cool facade. "Find out it's destination, and book us the next flight. I'll follow them to the ends of the Earth."


	4. Epilogue

March 13th, 2258. Mars. Syria Planum

Another day in Psi Corps research facility began like any other. Doctors Blake and Naylor made their way to the tiny cell that held Michelle Santos, former Psi Cop, and now yearlong candidate in the Corps' Shadow-telepath technology crossover project. Blake was tending to the wheelchair needed to carry the, no pun intended, shadow of her former self, Santos, to the research room and Naylor swung the door open. Her cell was empty, Santos was gone, and only a small note remained. Naylor moved in to see what it said, it read simply: "I am more now. I have gone to live among giants."

March 14th, 2258. Somewhere in Sector 14:

Dear Talia,

I write this knowing I'll reach you before this does, or before any of my letters do. I finally found a Drazi merchant not terrified by my telepathic abilities for long enough to dispatch, descreetly, my letters. I'm so sorry I have to bring my problems to you, I'm leaving a terrifying legacy in my wake. But, my love, I have nowhere else to go. No where else to turn. Bester almost caught me and Rick at Orion 4, we got separated. I've spent the last few months on my own and you and your home are my last best hope. Me and Rick have just caught the last transport to: BABYLON 5.


End file.
